Prof Sir Konstantin ‘Kostya’ Novoselov FRS (1974) was educated as a physicist first in Russia and then in the Netherlands (PhD in 2004) before he settled in the United Kingdom. He also received a formal education in Chinese art, working in the studio of Zheng Shenglong (Xiamen University, China).

His background in Physics links nicely with traditional Chinese art, both following the reductionism approach. Also interested in modern art, he collaborated with a number of artists, including Cornelia Parker and Mary Griffiths. In his artwork, Kostya uses novel approaches and materials. He expanded the range of topics far beyond the traditional Chinese ones, producing a novel, refreshing view on many subjects.

Also, he introduced the use of graphene ink (the work he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2010, jointly with Prof. Sir Andre Geim FRS) in his painting. Together with the inks based on other two-dimensional materials such media strongly expands the expressiveness and functionality of his artwork. Following Hofstadter’s idea, Kostya is fascinated with the concept of strange loops, which can be traced throughout many of his works.

Kostya Novoselov was knighted in the 2012 New Year Honours.